The presidential transition period is a strange time. In the past, incoming leaders have appeared deferential to their predecessors' decision-making, or at least remained silent in their disagreement. As with everything else in this strange new world order, however, such diplomacy now appears to be a relic of the past.

The latest evidence emerged on Friday, soon after the U.S. declined to veto a vote that allowed the United Nations Security Council to denounce the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The move, which defied significant Israeli lobbying efforts, reflects president Barack Obama's increasing frustration with the continued settlement construction on land that could be used for a future Palestinian state. Despite the timing of the vote, it set of a significant international kerfuffle of the first order. "Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. and will not abide by its terms," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

But the conflagration was exacerbated soon afterwards when Donald Trump tweeted ominously, “As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.”

Trump's foreign policy, while obviously breaking from Obama's approach, remains something of an enigma, or at least a complexity. His choice for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, has close ties to the Kremlin, but he also faces an uphill confirmation process. Early indications suggest that his policy with Israel, however, is more clear. David Friedman, his friend and ambassador-designate to Israel, is a hard-liner who appears to favor a controversial one-state solution. The clearest thing, of course, is that Trump seems prepared to continue handling America's most sensitive diplomatic issues over Twitter.